The 15 Biggest Celebrity Splits Of The Century

We have seen a lot of crazy breakups and divorce scandals this year alone. Brad Pitt and Angelina Jolie recently announced their shocking split and what will surely be one of the most expensive and tumultuous celebrity divorces ever.

Johnny Depp and Amber Heard split earlier this year after she claimed he was physically abusive towards her. But as you are going to read below, 2016 is far from the only year in which celebrity heartache filled up the headlines. In fact, some of the celebrities are listed multiple times on this list for being a part of some of the biggest splits of the century.

Jennifer Lopez, Ben Affleck, Brad Pitt, Demi Moore and Tom Cruise all make the list twice. Is that a bad sign? For them, maybe. For us, it just makes this list more entertaining! Even if it also left some of their pockets a little bit lighter. Along with talking about their relationships, we will also cover reasons behind their divorces and when available, cover some of the official statements that were released by the couples.

Just because you’re rich and famous doesn’t mean you are immune to heartbreak, so sit back and relax as you enjoy the 15 biggest celebrity splits of the century.

15. Ashton Kutcher and Demi Moore

Demi Moore made the decision to divorce Ashton Kutcher. There were rumors of infidelity that swarmed the couple in 2011. Demi filed for divorce in 2012.

Demi Moore and Ashton Kutcher were often talked about in regards to their drastic age difference. They made it acceptable for an older woman and a man to be in a relationship.

But, in the end a 25-year-old and a 41-year-old just had too many differences and were in different life stages when they decided to divorce. When talking about their tragic ending, Moore said “It is with great sadness and a heavy heart that I have decided to end my six-year marriage to Ashton. As a woman, a mother and a wife, there are certain values and vows that I hold sacred, and it is in this spirit that I have chosen to move forward with my life.”

The six-year marriage was over in 2012 and Ashton immediately began a relationship with his now-wife Mila Kunis. Kutcher is currently expecting his second child with Kunis.

14. Jennifer Lopez and Marc Anthony

Jennifer Lopez and Marc Anthony were married for eight years. They announced their divorce via PEOPLE in 2011. The couple has two children together, who they currently share custody of. “I felt like my whole life had fallen apart. We love our kids, and we have love for each other. We always will,” said Lopez when she was asked of the breakup.

The couple was allegedly fighting non-stop and Anthony reportedly had at least one extra-marital affair. He was said to be extremely controlling in his relationship with J-Lo and struggled with “jealousy” issues.

Marc Anthony supposedly tried to take over Jennifer’s business and personal life in a way that she definitely didn’t want. He allegedly hated the fact that his wife was a sex symbol.

Jennifer Lopez’s divorce from Marc Anthony was the singer’s third divorce. Since her divorce, Lopez has been spotted with her background dancer and younger beau, Casper Smart.

13. Heidi Klum and Seal

Heidi Klum and Seal were an iconic couple for over seven years. They had four children together and were always seen together with their daughters Leni, 11, and Lou, 6, and sons Henry, 10, and Johan, 9.

It came as a shock when the couple had announced that they were separating via PEOPLE in 2012 after 10 years of marriage.

Seal apparently did not like living life in the spotlight as much as Heidi did. When talking about their separation, Klum said, “We have had the deepest respect for one another throughout our relationship and continue to love each other very much, but we have grown apart.”

The divorce was finalized in 2014. The couple remains amicable and shares custody of their children. Apparently, Seal’s “partying” habits got to be too much for Klum to handle, leading to their divorce.

Now, Heidi Klum balances her life as a former supermodel, host of Project Runway, and single mom. Although she claims to have her busy life under control, as Seal was never the “typical” father anyway and traveled a lot.

12. Jessica Simpson and Nick Lachey

Jessica Simpson and Nick Lachey were the “it” couple back in the early 2000s. As the stars of MTV’s reality series Newlyweds, fans were completely shocked when they announced their divorce in 2006.

The two pop stars met at the Hollywood Christmas Parade in 1998. Jessica Simpson was a singer trying to reach stardom, in the shadows of Christina Aguilera and Britney Spears. Nick Lachey was soaking up the spotlight with his pop boy band 98 Degrees.

Rumors of cheating led to the couple’s split as well as jealously from Nick as his career took a downturn while Jessica’s was on the up and up. Lachey also claimed that Jessica Simpson’s father was completely overbearing and intrusive of their personal relationship.

Jessica Simpson and Nick Lachey are both happily remarried with children of their own today.

11. Reese Witherspoon and Ryan Phillipe

Reese Witherspoon and Ryan Phillippe were Hollywood’s golden couple. The pair first met on the set of Cruel Intentions. They were married shortly after in 1999.

What seemed like the perfect romance came to a tragic end in 2006. Witherspoon and Phillippe both agreed that their divorce was one of the hardest things that they’ve ever had to experience.

Reese described her divorce as humiliating and isolating, saying, “I spent a few years just trying to feel better … You can’t really be creative when you feel like your brain is scrambled eggs.”

The two amicably take part in raising their two children Ava and Deacon together. Six months after the split, Witherspoon was dating actor Jake Gyllenhaal, which she went on to have a two-year relationship with.

Reese Witherspoon went on to find love again in 2010 and married her talent agent, Jim Toth.

10. Mariah Carey and Nick Cannon

After getting married rather quickly in 2008, Nick Cannon and Mariah Carey spent six romantic years together and had two children before calling it quits in 2015.

Mariah Carey allegedly thought she would “never” divorce Nick Cannon. The pop diva claimed to be completely heartbroken over the split. Before divorcing, the two had allegedly been living apart for some time already.

The former couple keeps their relationship amicable for their twins Monroe and Moroccan. Mariah Carey was recently proposed to by her billionaire boyfriend, James Packer. So it appears as though she has moved on to bigger and better things.

Nick Cannon is apparently totally fine with Carey moving on saying, “I salute them. I respect it. I wish all my exes [found] billionaires!”

Carey’s marriage to James Packer will be her third marriage. She was also previously married to music producer Tommy Mottola from 1993 to 1998.

9. Nicole Kidman and Tom Cruise

Nicole Kidman and Tom Cruise once had a “perfect life” together. Kidman has said publicly that she was completely shocked when her ex-husband and Hollywood actor Tom Cruise filed for divorce in 2001.

Kidman had no warning when Cruise left her. He also apparently refused to discuss the problems in their marriage or to go to counseling.

Nicole allegedly “begged” Tom not to leave her. She said she wasn’t able to face reality for some time. Her marriage with Cruise lasted 10 years before the two went through a very public divorce. They had two adopted children together, Conor and Isabella.

Nicole Kidman is now happily married to Keith Urban, with whom she had two more children; daughters Sunday and Faith. Tom Cruise went on to marry Katie Holmes and had a daughter, Suri (which we will get to later on in this list).

8. Jennifer Lopez and Ben Affleck

Jennifer Lopez and Ben Affleck basically started celebrity couple nicknames with “Bennifer.” Ben and Jen were one of the most celebrated couples in the world when they got together.

The two began dating in 2002 after filming the flop Gigli. They later starred in the movie Jersey Girl together. Affleck also famously starred in JLo’s “Jenny from the Block” music video.

However, the couple did not last. Bennifer called off their engagement in early 2004, weeks before the wedding day. Lopez reunited with her ex Marc Anthony months later. (You already read about how that one turned out.)

Ben Affleck went on to marry actress Jennifer Garner. Lopez blamed the timing of the relationship and the attention from the tabloids for their failed relationship. However, the two apparently keep in touch via email from time to time and look to each other for advice.

7. Melanie Griffith and Antonio Banderas

As one of Hollywood’s most high-profile couples, Banderas and Griffith shocked the public when they announced their divorce. Melanie Griffith had even famously had Antonio’s name tattooed inside of a heart on her arm.

Surprisingly enough, Griffith and Banderas kept their finances earned as actors separate during the years that they were married. However, the pair had to split up any money that they earned from their films made from 2004 to 2014 due to their marital agreement shifting in 2004 with a post-nuptial agreement.

While the celebrity divorce thought to have been nasty, Antonio Banderas has said he will always love Melanie. After nearly 20 years of marriage, the separation proved to be difficult for both of the actors. They share a daughter together, Stella.

This is the second divorce for Melanie Griffith, she has another daughter, Fifty Shades of Grey actress Dakota Johnson, and a son, Alex Bauer, from her previous marriage.

6. Katie Holmes and Tom Cruise

After divorcing Nicole Kidman, Tom Cruise got together with Dawson’s Creek star Katie Holmes. The couple had one child, daughter Suri, together.

The couple sent shock waves throughout the celebrity world when Katie Holmes filed for divorce from Cruise just five days before his 50th birthday in June of 2012.

Though Cruise claimed to be both “blindsided” and “deeply saddened” by the split, he and Holmes both remained silent to the media about the explosive lengths their legal battles went to.

Tom was accused of abandoning their daughter Suri after the pair separated. He believes that Holmes was trying to discredit him as a father.

Katie Holmes says that she has since moved on from all of the attention she got from the relationship and the split and wants to keep that all in her past.

This was Tom Cruise’s third failed marriage, which Tom admitted was in part because of his involvement with the Church of Scientology.

5. Jennifer Garner and Ben Affleck

After his divorce from Jennifer Lopez, Ben Affleck met a new Jennifer who would soon be the next love of his life. The couple seemed to be happily married for 10 years. They had three children together; Violet, Seraphina and Samuel.

However, in June of 2015, a statement was released announcing their divorce, one day after their 10 year anniversary. Affleck had allegedly been accused of cheating on Jennifer Garner with the children’s nanny and also having an alcohol abuse problem.

Moving vans were then quickly seen at the couple’s Pacific Palisades home in California. Ben was rumored to have actually started dating the nanny, who Garner said had nothing to do with the divorce. Jennifer claims the couple had been separated for months before rumors about the nanny started circling.

The couple has been spotted out and about together in public since their split, but only for the sake of their children.

4. Jennifer Aniston and Brad Pitt

Jennifer Aniston‘s divorce from Brad Pitt was one of the most talked about breakups of the century. Brad Pitt was famously accused of cheating on Aniston with Angelina Jolie while filming for their film Mr. and Mrs. Smith.

Aniston and Pitt were America’s hottest celebrity couple for five years. The two were married in a million dollar wedding in Malibu.

Jennifer Aniston became the world’s symbol for a woman scorned. The two were put in the spotlight by the media for years following the split. Brad Pitt went on to marry Angelina Jolie. Years later, Jennifer Aniston married Justin Theroux.

Jennifer never decided to have children, while Brad ended up adopting and having six children with Angelina.

Still, to this day Jennifer Aniston seems unable to escape her past relationship with Brad Pitt. Pitt’s recent news of his divorce from Angelina Jolie has dragged Jennifer Aniston’s name back into the tabloids.

3. Gwen Stefani and Gavin Rossdale

Gwen Stefani and Garvin Rossdale were just one month from celebrating their 13th wedding anniversary when the two revealed that they were divorcing in August 2015. Gwen and Gavin have two sons together; Kingston and Zuma.

Stefani had caught Rossdale cheating on her with the children’s nanny for three years, who also struck an odd resemblance to Stefani. Gwen was devastated and filed for divorce from Gavin as the two issued the statement, “While the two of us have come to the mutual decision that we will no longer be partners in marriage, we remain partners in parenthood and are committed to jointly raising our three sons in a happy and healthy environment.”

Stefani remarkably bounced back with a new album and a new boyfriend. It was rumored that Gavin was always envious of Gwen’s success. The Voice coach began dating her co-star and country music star Blake Shelton.

2. Amber Heard and Johnny Depp

Amber Heard shocked the public when she filed for divorce from her husband Johnny Depp earlier this year. The pair got into a long, legal battle that included physical abuse allegations made by Heard as well as video footage that showed Depp drunk and yelling.

The 30-year-old actress met the Pirates of the Caribbean actor in 2011 on the set of The Rum Diaries. Heard later described her relationship with Depp as extremely passionate but at times volatile.  After the divorce announcement, Amber had a restraining order filed against Depp. She reportedly stated that she wishes to move on with her life and she hopes Johnny Depp will get the “help that he needs.”

Following months of court date and back-and-forth, the couple reached a reported $7 million divorce settlement. Heard donated her settlement share to charity.

1. Angelina Jolie and Brad Pitt

Perhaps the most shocking split of them all was announced just recently when Angelina Jolie and Brad Pitt decided to divorce after just two years of being married. The couple had been together for over a decade, ever since Pitt divorced Aniston.

Jolie filed citing irreconcilable differences and she is not asking for spousal support. The pair have six children together, both adopted and genetic. They are currently in the process of sorting out the custody situation between the soon-to-be co-parents.

Since the divorce has been filed, claims that Brad Pitt was abusive have broken out as well as accusations that he has been drinking a lot of alcohol and smoking a lot of weed.

The high-profile legal battle between Angelina Jolie and Brad Pitt is far from over and is likely to be one of the most memorable celebrity divorces in Hollywood history.